Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-06-03
FHE NATIONAL DRILL.
The Rev. T. Dewitt TaImage breaches
an Eloquent Discourse to Mill
tary Congregation.
Soldiers from Thirty.One states and
Territories and Nineteen Governors
and their Stats Present,
A Contrast Drawn Between the ConditiCi.
of the Country In '62 and In 'S7-Why
we Should Scatter Flowers.
snecial 10 the Gazette.

Special TO the Gazette.
WASHINGTON, May 29.-Soldiers of the
National Drill listened this afternoon to
sermon by the Rev. T. Dewitt Tai
mage, d. D. Soldiers from thirty-one
states and territories were present, and
nineteen governors and their stats.
Washington is full of strangers attendant
upon the National DriIishaving for its
object improvement in military science,
which begun May 90 and will close to-
morrow. The music before and after the
sermon this morning was conducted by
military bands. DR.. Talmage's texts
were taken from l. Chronicles, XII, 80:
"Fifty thousand which Gould keep rank, !"
and Judges, Xxx, l6 isESery one could
sling stones at hair bfeadthhn not
miss" The preacher Said :'Zg,ss
Companies of Infantry, cavalry, artil-
lery and Zouaves, please notice the first
scripture passage applauds the soldiers
Of Zebulon because they were disciplined
troops. They may have been ineflicient
at the start and laughed at by old soldiers
because they seemed so clutnsy in the
line, but it was drill, drill, drill, until
they could keep step as one man. Fifty
thousand which could keep rank" The
second scripture passage applauds @ regi-
men of singers in the tribe of BEN amin,
because they are deXteTous marksmen
When they frsa enlisted they may have
been an awkfard squad and all their tin-
gersgwere tRhmbs, but they practiced IN
til ,Ehen they aimed at d mark they always
hit:A. every one could sling stones at
a hair breadth and not miss" Both texts
combining TO show us that if we must
fight 81
WE SHOULD DO IT WELL.
There is something absorbing in the
military science CT the Bible. In Olden
times al the men between twenty and
fifty years of age were enrolled IN the
army, and then u levy was made for q
special service. There were only three
or four classes exempt; those who had
built house and had not occupied it;
those who had planted a garden and had
not reaped the fruit of it; those who were
engaged to be msrriedland yet had not led
the bride to the altar; those who were yet
in the first year Of welded life; those
who We're so nervous that they could not
look upon an enemy but they fed and
could not look upon blood but they
tainted.
The army was in three divisions-the
center and right and left wings. The
weapons of defense were helmet, shield,
breastplate, buckler. The weapons of
offense were sword, spear, javelin, ar
row, catapult-WhiCh was merely bow
swung by machinery, shooting arrows at
vast distances, great arrows, one arrow
as3large as several men could lift, and
ballista, which was o sling swung by
machinery, hurting great rocks and large
pieces of LEAD to vast distances. The
shields were made of woven willow work
with three thicknesses of hide and q loop
inside through which the arm Of the war
rior might be thrust; and when these
soldiers were marching to attack en
enemy on the level, all these shields
touched each other, making q wall NOV
ing but impenetrsble; and then when
they attacked fortress and tried to Cap-
ture battlement this shield Yes lifted
over the head so as to resist the falling
missiles. The bTeastplate was made Of
two pieces oi. leatber, brass covered, one
piece falling over the breast, the other
filling ovetffle back. At the side Of the
warrior tne tWo pieces x
II FASPEHEp WITH BUTTONS OR CLASPS.
The bows Were so stout and stiff
and strong that warriors often
challenged each other TO bend
one. The strings of the bow were made
from the sineWS OF oxen. a case like an
inverted pyramid was fastened to the
back,that case containing the arrows, so
thatWhJn the warrior wanted to use an
arrow he would put his arm over his
shoulder and pull forth The arrow tor the
fight. The ankle of the foot had an iron
boot. When q wall was 20 be assaulted
pattering ram was brought up. A bat
tering ram was great beam swung on
chains in equilibrium. The battering
ram would be brought close up to the
wall and then a great number of men
would take hold of this beam, push it
back as far as they could and then
lebge, and the beam became e CREST
swinging pendulum of destruction.
Twenty or forty men would stand in s
movable tower on the back of an ele-
plant, the elephant made drunk with
wine, and then headed toward the enemy,
and what with the heavy feet and the
swing probOsCis and the poisoned arrows
shot from the movable tower, the de-
struction was appalling. War chariots
were in vogue and they were on two
wheels so they could easily turn. A
sword was fastened to the pole between
the horses so when they went ahead the
sword thrust, end when they turned
around it would NOW down. The armies
carried flags beautifully embroidered.
Tribe of judah carried flag embroidered
with d lion; tribe of Reuben, embroidered
with man; tribe of Dan, embroidered
with Cherubim. The noise of the host as
moved N v1yaS alrninn Uhot
with the CHATTER of shields and the rumb-
ling OF wheels and the shouts Of the cap
teiae, and the moderation Of the entire
host the prophet says it was like the
roaring of the sea Because the arts of
wsrAave been advancing all these years,
you Sre no! TO conclude that these armies
of dasn times we're
81 AN UNCONTROLLABLE MOB.
I c6Eid quote you four or five passages
ofMScripture showing you that they
were thoroughly drilled: they marched
step to step, shoulder 10 shoulder, or, as
my texts express 1t, they were $500
which cOuld'keep rank" and every one
could sling stones at 8 hSir-bresdt1 and
not miss"
Nothing could be more important than
this great national encsmpmeqt. IN
uIuISI LIOOpS CAu never otduu LtloTE
those which are drilled. At time when
other nations are giving such care 20
military tactics, it behooves this nation
to lack nothing ia skill, We shall never
have another war between north and
south. The old decsyed bone of con-
tention, American slavery, has been cast
out, although here and there depraved
politician takes it up to see if he can
gnaw something Of of it. We are float
ing OF further and further from the pos